You make a good point. Why is the cost to found a guild 5,000 credits and the cost to unlock the first guild bank panel 600,000 credits? There's an imbalance here, I think. IMHO, the reverse would be more reasonable, though still out-of-balance. Why not charge 200,000 or so credits to found a guild, with which would come the first guild bank panel? It would prevent people from creating guilds willy-nilly, which is an argument some people are using to support the high cost of the guild banks, and it would be acceptible to someone like me who plays in a guild of local friends for whom 200,000 credits is still a significant chunk of change.
You read one part of my post and nothing else, it appears. I said, "So I hear," and I don't think it would take much work to verify that lack of content is indeed *a* reason that many players are using to quit the game.
I'm a 48th level consular. I've been playing since release. A number of my friends and I started a guild a week or so after release, but many of them have left--two reached 50, got bored, and quit, one moved to another server to play on the Empire side because it suits his personality better, and the rest have largely gone inactive even though they still maintain subscriptions. That leaves two of us who play once or twice weekly as we are able and we always team up. Both of us are crafters and have collected enough materials each to easily fill up a single panel of personal bank space, and we're always collecting. We sell very little if any of our materials on the trade network because we prefer to use the materials for improving our own recipes. Neither of us particularly enjoy rerunning dailies as repeating content is, well, boring. Personally, I've never had more than 400K credits in my account.
Money may be easy to come by for you, but for me it is not. My friend and I may be able to pool our resources to open a single panel for us to use to exchange crafting materials, but the 300K each will significantly dent our wallets and hamper our ability to acquire other in-game services later, such as tier 3 mounts, legacy unlocks, etc. What would it hurt Bioware to make the initial bank panel available to all for free? After that, they could charge any price they want. I don't think this is an unreasonable request.
The argument has been made that perhaps my friend and I don't need a guild bank. I'm sure we would be able to continue on in the game without one, but to do so will mean that, at least where guild banks are concerned, the added service means nothing to us. This, at a time when we're looking for and discussing reasons to keep playing.
The argument has been made that some things should be difficult to acquire. I agree with this to an extent as well. However, at this point in the game, I can say that restricting one guild bank panel to those who can shell out 600K right off the bat is doing more to push us away than it is to motivate us to play more. It's a balancing act and the way the systems are being implemented right now is out-of-balance in my mind.
I can hear the argument that ToR may not be the game for my friend and I. I'm having a hard time thinking of ways to argue that one.
I'm sincerely glad the game has some loyal enthusiasts--those who are willing to support the decisions Bioware is making--but I think these decisions require more thought. My questions aren't intended to sow dissent.
I can't fathom Bioware. They're running invite-a-friend promotions and losing players, (so I hear--they say they're 'stabilized,' apparently, at 1.7 million, which is a joke as MMOs don't really stabilize) due to lack of content and the lack of these exact mechanics in the game and yet, even though they're implementing these mechanics now, they're making them inaccessible to a percentage of their playerbase. It's like they're saying to those who run small guilds, "We know you wanted this. We're sorry it wasn't there at the outset. Here it is now. It's in the game. You can't have it."
I'm currently subscribed. I've been hoping that 1.2 would reinvigorate the game for me and others, but I'm losing interest.
There are a number of guilds out there comprised of less than 15 friends who live and play locally. It's not unreasonable to expect that they, too, should have access to a guild bank.
That being said, I'm more concerned about the additional in-game fees that Bioware is attaching to everything they offer. These fees are on top of any investment of time required (I'm speaking mostly about the legacy system here) to unlock a basic service--a service that many other MMOs already offer for free.
A lifetime subscription is not worth it. History has shown us that the majority of MMOs trend toward free-to-play eventually, making a lifetime subscription really just a four or five-year subscription at most.
The rest sounds good. Although, I wonder what happened to my promised beta access that came with my subscription to AoC? Another trick?
"Not every guild can have a guild bank, unfortunately. You have to have a minimum of 15 members in the guild in order to obtain one. On top of that there is a cost for each vault: 600k credits for the first, 1 million for the second, 2 million for the third, and 3.5 million for the fourth. Beyond that, we are not sure; however, we do know the total vaults can number seven."
Other than the limitations to guild acquiring a guild bank and the initial 600,000 credit cost to open up the initial panel, both of which are very disconcerting, the system sounds robust. I don't know what it is that Bioware is trying to accomplish by requiring such inflated fees to gain such basic services that are often readily available to players in other MMOs. The fees attached to unlocking legacy services, such as the R2 unit, are another example of this. Once you reach the required milestone, the service should be free. At that point, you've already paid your dues in time.
Guild Wars 2's character creator brings celebrities to Tyria
Apr 4th 2012 3:44PM (Massively)Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 4th 2012 3:40PM (Massively)You make a good point. Why is the cost to found a guild 5,000 credits and the cost to unlock the first guild bank panel 600,000 credits? There's an imbalance here, I think. IMHO, the reverse would be more reasonable, though still out-of-balance. Why not charge 200,000 or so credits to found a guild, with which would come the first guild bank panel? It would prevent people from creating guilds willy-nilly, which is an argument some people are using to support the high cost of the guild banks, and it would be acceptible to someone like me who plays in a guild of local friends for whom 200,000 credits is still a significant chunk of change.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 4th 2012 3:32PM (Massively)You read one part of my post and nothing else, it appears. I said, "So I hear," and I don't think it would take much work to verify that lack of content is indeed *a* reason that many players are using to quit the game.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 4th 2012 3:30PM (Massively)Here's my situation in the game:
I'm a 48th level consular. I've been playing since release. A number of my friends and I started a guild a week or so after release, but many of them have left--two reached 50, got bored, and quit, one moved to another server to play on the Empire side because it suits his personality better, and the rest have largely gone inactive even though they still maintain subscriptions. That leaves two of us who play once or twice weekly as we are able and we always team up. Both of us are crafters and have collected enough materials each to easily fill up a single panel of personal bank space, and we're always collecting. We sell very little if any of our materials on the trade network because we prefer to use the materials for improving our own recipes. Neither of us particularly enjoy rerunning dailies as repeating content is, well, boring. Personally, I've never had more than 400K credits in my account.
Money may be easy to come by for you, but for me it is not. My friend and I may be able to pool our resources to open a single panel for us to use to exchange crafting materials, but the 300K each will significantly dent our wallets and hamper our ability to acquire other in-game services later, such as tier 3 mounts, legacy unlocks, etc. What would it hurt Bioware to make the initial bank panel available to all for free? After that, they could charge any price they want. I don't think this is an unreasonable request.
The argument has been made that perhaps my friend and I don't need a guild bank. I'm sure we would be able to continue on in the game without one, but to do so will mean that, at least where guild banks are concerned, the added service means nothing to us. This, at a time when we're looking for and discussing reasons to keep playing.
The argument has been made that some things should be difficult to acquire. I agree with this to an extent as well. However, at this point in the game, I can say that restricting one guild bank panel to those who can shell out 600K right off the bat is doing more to push us away than it is to motivate us to play more. It's a balancing act and the way the systems are being implemented right now is out-of-balance in my mind.
I can hear the argument that ToR may not be the game for my friend and I. I'm having a hard time thinking of ways to argue that one.
I'm sincerely glad the game has some loyal enthusiasts--those who are willing to support the decisions Bioware is making--but I think these decisions require more thought. My questions aren't intended to sow dissent.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 4th 2012 3:09PM (Massively)This is good news.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 3rd 2012 9:38PM (Massively)I can't fathom Bioware. They're running invite-a-friend promotions and losing players, (so I hear--they say they're 'stabilized,' apparently, at 1.7 million, which is a joke as MMOs don't really stabilize) due to lack of content and the lack of these exact mechanics in the game and yet, even though they're implementing these mechanics now, they're making them inaccessible to a percentage of their playerbase. It's like they're saying to those who run small guilds, "We know you wanted this. We're sorry it wasn't there at the outset. Here it is now. It's in the game. You can't have it."
I'm currently subscribed. I've been hoping that 1.2 would reinvigorate the game for me and others, but I'm losing interest.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 3rd 2012 8:31PM (Massively)There are a number of guilds out there comprised of less than 15 friends who live and play locally. It's not unreasonable to expect that they, too, should have access to a guild bank.
That being said, I'm more concerned about the additional in-game fees that Bioware is attaching to everything they offer. These fees are on top of any investment of time required (I'm speaking mostly about the legacy system here) to unlock a basic service--a service that many other MMOs already offer for free.
The Secret World pre-order packages feature beta access, lifetime sub, and more
Apr 3rd 2012 8:22PM (Massively)The rest sounds good. Although, I wonder what happened to my promised beta access that came with my subscription to AoC? Another trick?
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking the bank
Apr 3rd 2012 8:16PM (Massively)Other than the limitations to guild acquiring a guild bank and the initial 600,000 credit cost to open up the initial panel, both of which are very disconcerting, the system sounds robust. I don't know what it is that Bioware is trying to accomplish by requiring such inflated fees to gain such basic services that are often readily available to players in other MMOs. The fees attached to unlocking legacy services, such as the R2 unit, are another example of this. Once you reach the required milestone, the service should be free. At that point, you've already paid your dues in time.
Storyboard: Flag a server
Apr 1st 2012 5:20AM (Massively)Irem, you seem pretty knowledgable about GW2 and RP. Any good recommendations for websites where future GW2 players/RPers are already gathering?